Please define "too much noise"

A few days ago, I wrote a column about Peter Fogl, a property owner who lives in the heart of the Quartier Concordia site and is ready to tear his hair out. after too many late night deliveries and early morning starts by the construction crews.

His outcry provided a springboard for other downtown residents who’ve been struggling to stay sane – and keep from throttling the next guy they see wearing work boots and a hard hat.

“This poor man is talking about the last two years,” said Rachel Tassé, who lived at 1436 Mackay for 20 years until she moved out last December.

Tassé says she “went through hell” with Concordia through the construction of the Engineering and Visual Arts building, which covers the block bounded by MacKay, de Maisonneuve, Guy and Ste. Catherine.

“Concordia, (contractor) Pomerleau and all others involved always ignored the residents starting working before 7:00 every morning (including week-ends) even at some point all night long. I have called, written and talked to Concordia people, the City of Montreal, the police on many occasions had to be called during the night, nobody, but nobody every did anything whatsoever about my complaints. After the construction of the actual building completed, the noise just went on with the delivery trucks, the garbage trucks, etc. doing pick-ups and delivery all night long on the loading dock behind 1436 MacKay. “This situation is totally unacceptable but it seems that we can’t do anything about it. As I was told many times by all concerned, Concordia is Concordia.”

Robert Roy-Laliberté has been living on Mackay St. near the corner of St. Catherine for the last eight years. He, too, has horror tales to tell, although his complaints don’t involve Concordia but the city’s failure to rein in the private contractors working on the building next door to him.

“There is a crew that has been working for over 5 months on the building attached to mine. It is amazing to me that they have been starting at 5:30AM and finishing at 11AM on average…many days not even showing up. An open wall stands, staring into my bedroom window. 3 storeys! 3 months now! Some mornings I awake to a shouting construction crew staring into my window from their perch, not 7 feet away. I even have to cover up before I exit my bathroom after a shower! I completely understand the need for improving the downtown core with quality projects, but it seems to me that these crews work at a snail’s pace. It is shocking to me that a crew needs half a year to complete renovations of 3 storey building!”

And that’s not the half of it.

Roy-Laliberté, the director of Montreal Number 1 Homestay, has been waging a long, and so far frustrating, battle with the city over the clank and clatter of overnight trash and recycling collection from the 11 bins located in the alley behind his house – and his bedroom window.

“The monstrous sounds of metal hitting metal, like a bad war film. The shouts of men and women screaming to each other as if they were alone, in the later hours of the night or the early hours of the morning. It wasn’t until 1 month ago that my mother informed me of the city’s 311 line and the noise laws. I started to call daily, as the pickups are daily, or should is say nightly! Seven nights a week actually!”

Roy-Laliberté has filed 16 complaints, recording the names of the companies and the times of the pick-ups. Until this week, all he was told that the file had been trasferred and he should wait to hear from the inspector.

“Do I have to run out of my home at 6 a.m. as Mr. Fogl has done? Do I have to move forward with legal action? Or do you believe there is a chance that the City of Montreal might read your article with shock, grief and discontent, and attempt to do something about it by simply enforcing the quiet hours, and perhaps even to go so far as to set limited time lines to complete construction projects?”

(Photo Daniel Garcia/AFP)

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And what of the other noise issue in the neighbourhood, complaints by people who live on streets facing the Grey Nuns property, where Concordia rattled a few cages when it opened a new student residence last fall.

Since then, Chris Mota, director of media relations at Concordia, says the university has taken steps to address concerns about excessive noise, especially during the weekends, when students are more apt to let loose a little and get a bit rowdy. Complaints generally start to die down once the cold weather arrives and people close their windows. The university has hired a community assistant, (shown in this YouTube video) and increased security. “We’ve investigated each complaint and met with our neighbours on a few occasions to discuss concerns, challenges and options.”

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But Mota said when it comes to noise, everyone seems to have a different tolerance level. “We’ve had complaints because people are sitting on the steps chatting. Well, that they’re home. Unless they are yelling, they aren’t going to be told not to do that. There has to be balance.”

“This is a tough issue, inasmuch as this is the students’ home and they have a right to stand outside it and talk. It’s also tough because the interpretation of “noise” can vary widely. But we continue to educate and monitor the situation.”

Some residents are still pretty agitated, not only about the noise but about the prospect of another round of tree-cutting and construction, both by Concordia on the Grey Nuns land and a few flocks west, where there are plans for a large, privately-funded student housing complex on the grounds of the old Seville Theatre.

As someone who walks by that pitiful derelict shell every day, I can’t see how people in the immediate neighbourhood could find it preferable as it is, occupied by homeless people, panhandlers and pigeons. The western end of Ste. Catherine St. desperately needs an anchor and a well-managed apartment complex for students – close to campuses, food shopping and the AMC – could be just the ticket.

That’s provided, of course, everyone finds a way to live together without drawing knives or having to call the cops every half hour to keep the peace.

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